Secretary Gary Locke addressed the annual conference to discuss reforms to the U.S. export
control system that will strengthen national security and improve the
competitiveness of key U.S. manufacturing and technology sectors. In
addition, President Barack Obama delivered a recorded statement about the
administration’s efforts to reform the export control system. Remarks | BIS 2010 Update website

On the final day of
the National Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week Conference hosted by the
Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), U.S. Commerce
Secretary Gary Locke addressed minority business owners, government officials
and corporate representatives and officially opened a Business-to-Business Expo
Hall.

Locke discussed
President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI) and how minority businesses
can become more competitive and increase job creation and economic growth by
participating in the global marketplace. Minority businesses already export
twice as much as the average business, as they often have existing cultural,
family or business ties to foreign countries. The NEI seeks to build on that,
with a goal of increasing the number of small-, medium- and minority-owned
businesses exporting to more than one market by 50 percent over the next five
years.

Following his
remarks, Locke officially opened and toured the Business-to-Business Expo Hall,
which includes exhibit booths and one-on-one matching services with more than
$20 billion in opportunities for minority businesses. The expo also offers
20-minute power-learning sessions conducted by public- and private-sector
partners.

The MED Week
Conference wraps up Friday night with the Awards Gala. U.S. Commerce Deputy
Secretary Dennis Hightower will highlight the impact of minority-owned firms on
the global economy and thank the MED Week award winners for their hard
work. Remarks

Today Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
kicked off the 28th annual National Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week
Conference in Washington, D.C. The week-long conference focuses on
“Strategies for Growth and Competitiveness in the Global Economy.”

The MED Week conference helps minority-owned firms
grow domestically and globally through a series of educational, training and
business-to-business networking events. Throughout MED Week, nearly 1,500
minority business owners, government officials and corporate representatives
will hear about President Obama’s National Export Initiative and develop the
skills to become export-ready. They will also have the chance to participate in
sessions on opportunities for minority-owned firms in federal contracting and
Haiti reconstruction, among others.
The week will wrap up with an awards gala to honor excellence in minority-owned
firms.

MBDA and National Director David Hinson will welcome
several speakers to this week’s conference, including: U.S. Commerce Secretary
Gary Locke, Administrator of the Small Business Administration Karen G. Mills,
U.S. Deputy Commerce Secretary Dennis Hightower, Under Secretary of Commerce for
International Trade Francisco Sánchez, Under Secretary of Commerce for
Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office David
Kappos, and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development John
Fernandez.

MBDA is focused on helping minority-owned firms grow
their businesses domestically and globally to foster job creation and economic
growth. For more information about the conference and a video of National Director Hinson at MED Week, visit http://www.medweek.gov. | Conference details and more | USPTO Kappos's remarks

Locke discusses Commerce resources available to U.S. companies to help grow business and create jobs

Today
Secretary Locke visited the UPS Global Operations Center in Louisville,
Ky., to highlight opportunities for local Kentucky businesses to sell
their goods and services abroad and support job creation in their
community. Locke toured the facility and held a discussion with local
business owners on how the Commerce Department can help them grow their
businesses and create jobs. Expanding on an existing partnership, UPS
has joined with the Commerce Department to identify new markets for
current exporters and potential candidates to expand their exports with
the help of Department resources through the
New Market Exporter Initiative.

Commerce’s
partnership with UPS is one way the Department is working to achieve
the goals of President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI), which
aims to double U.S. exports over the next five years in support of 2
million American jobs. Since the president announced the NEI, the
Department of Commerce’s Advocacy Center has assisted American
companies competing for export opportunities, supporting $11.4 billion
in exports and an estimated 70,000 jobs. The Department’s commercial
service officers stationed around the world have helped more than 2,000
companies generate $3.8 billion worth of exports. To date, the Commerce
Department has coordinated 18 trade missions with over 160 companies to
24 countries.

Joining
Locke at for the discussion were Larry Hayes, Secretary of the Kentucky
Cabinet for Economic Development, Scott Casey, Vice President of Legal
& Public Affairs for UPS, and Jerry Plappert, Vice President of
Corporate Development for CECO Environmental and Chair of the Kentucky
District Export Council. | Read more | Remarks

Responding to President Obama’s call to double exports in the
next five years, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and U.S. Postmaster General
John Potter announced the launch of a new initiative between the Commerce
Department and the United States Postal Service (USPS) that will help boost U.S.
exports. The New Market Exporter Initiative (NMEI) will identify current USPS
customers who are exporting their goods and services abroad, and help expand
their reach to additional international markets. The announcement expands a
strategic partnership formed in 2008 between the two entities. Read more

U.S. Secretary of
Commerce Gary Locke joined President Barack Obama and Jim McNerney – chairman, president &
CEO of The Boeing Company and chair of the President’s Export Council - today at the White House to announce members
of the President’s Export Council. During his speech, the president provided
a progress report on the National Export Initiative (NEI), which shows that the president’s goal of
doubling exports and supporting several million new jobs over five years is on
track, and that exports in the first four months of 2010 grew almost 17 percent
from the same period last year. While introducing the president, Locke
said that

“we must reinvest in innovation and do a
better job of connecting U.S.
companies with the 95 percent of the world’s consumers who live outside
our borders. That’s where the National Export Initiative comes in. It’s
an unprecedented government-wide effort to help double American exports by
2015, and it was designed with one overriding goal in mind: To put Americans
back to work in jobs that provide security, dignity and a sense of hope for the
future.”

The president also announced new members of the President’s Export
Council (PEC), a group that includes business and labor leaders who offer
advice and expertise on how best to promote exports, congressional leaders and
senior representatives of the administration. President’s
remarks | White House blog

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke participated in the U.S.-Russia Business
Summit today alongside President Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Russia’s
Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina at the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce. Talking with both U.S.
and Russian business and association leaders, Locke discussed further
developing bilateral commercial relations and highlighted examples of new plans
for cooperation between U.S.
and Russian companies. Locke and Nabiullina co-chair the U.S.-Russia Business
Development and Economic Relations Working Group and together solicited input
from Summit
participants. Read moreWhite House "Reset" fact sheetDOC Fact sheetWhite House blogPress conference video

Wrapping
up the administration’s first trade mission to the Caribbean, Commerce
Department senior adviser and Deputy Chief of Staff Rick
Wade stressed that geographical
proximity
and shared historical and cultural ties make the Dominican Republic and
Jamaica prime destinations for U.S. goods and services. Wade led a
10-company U.S.
trade mission to the region to promote export opportunities June 13-19.

“In today’s global marketplace, it is critical for
companies to establish alliances with partners in other markets in order to be
competitive,” Wade said. “Because of its close proximity and a
favorable trading relationship over time, the Caribbean is a natural area for U.S. firms to
explore new export opportunities that will result in more jobs for American
workers.”

The United States
is the primary trading partner for both countries. In 2009, U.S. exports to the Dominican
Republic and Jamaica totaled $5.27 billion and
$1.45 billion, respectively. Read moreUpcoming trade missions

Rick Wade, senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to U.S. Commerce
Secretary
Gary Locke, will lead a delegation of 10 small- and medium-sized
U.S. businesses on a trade
mission to Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Kingston, Jamaica,
June 13-19 to promote
U.S. exports in the
Caribbean.

The trade mission will give participating
U.S. companies the opportunity to
meet with potential business partners and network with key Dominican and
Jamaican government and industry officials. The business delegation will
promote
U.S. products and services in a range
of consumer goods, construction and automotive sectors with foreign
buyers and
governments.

Trade missions are an important component to achieving
the goals of President Obama’s National Export Initiative, which aims to
double
U.S. exports within five years to
support the creation of two million jobs. This mission will help open
doors for
U.S. firms interested in
entering or expanding their presence in the Caribbean region. Read more

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke visited the Precision
Auto Care international corporate headquarters training facility in Leesburg,
Va., to discuss President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI) and how it
can help U.S. companies of all sizes sell more of their goods and services
overseas and support the creation of American jobs. Locke was joined by U.S.
Rep. Frank Wolf. The NEI aims to double U.S. exports over the next five years
while supporting two million American jobs.